Gardening in North Otago 11th December 2010

This week hot and cold, the plants will not know what season it is!
All of a sudden there is so much to be cut back in our garden, plants like tree peony which double in size each growing season. Don't let them swamp your garden and smother other plants, the older woody canes can be cut down to the second bud from the bottom leaving the new green stalks to be next years flower branches. By doing this now seed pods will be cut off as well which if allowed to ripen will pop all over your garden and grow. Other larger plants I have had to cut back are bush lavatera's, English abutilon, ornamental broom, false Valerian,and cat mint these I have mentioned will all grow back, look a lot nicer and flower again.

I have had to continue lifting the branches on trees that were casting too much shade over other plants. It's the lower branches that can be removed without making the tree look as though it has been cut. The upper branches will hide the cuts, so any branch growing downwards with a canopy branch directly above it can be cut back or removed altogether.

Begonias are really pushing through now and I see that I have lost a few of the ones I left in the ground from last year, I am guessing the rain we had in May rotted them. I did dig out and store most of them and have now been planting them out. The food begonias most appreciate is any fish based fertilser, as a folia spray or watered in around their roots.

Hydrangeas are producing flower heads now so it is important to keep the water and food up to them, blood and bone, dry or liquid or slow release fertiliser will keep them happy and flowering well. Remember it's lime for pink and Epsom salts or aluminum sulphate to keep them blue.

Fuchsias are making a lot of growth now as well, if you missed cutting any back do it now, they will flower later than the ones you have cut back but will soon catch up.
Tip cutting can be taken from fuchsias now, if you spot some you like in a friends garden ask for some cuttings.
Tip cuttings from Hebe's will root with no trouble as well right now. Use wet crusher dust or river sand to strike them in, never beach sand.
Fuchsias are on sale right now, they are wonderful in pots for a shady spot and because they put on a lot of growth in one season they soon become bushy and fill a pot.

If you are looking for something non invasive to make a show of colour against a wall why not try Abutilon (Chinese lantern ) I have seen it on offer this week in three Strong colours, yellow, orange and burgundy. I have planted yellow and burgundy together in a large container with nice lime green grass's below them, they are a rather spindly plant so I have been intertwining them as they grow, they are just starting to flower now and look great together. If you do train them against a wall you could leave some longer branches and shorten back others to get a good spread.
Lawns
keep feeding lawns, dry lawn fertiliser must only be applied when we get rain to wash it in but a liquid fertiliser is fine any time. Lawns get really stressed from now on as the hot summer progresses.
If your lawns are inclined to crack when dry they have probably been planted on clay soil. Apply gypsum ,
( soluble lime) and water in, after a couple of years of doing this your lawns will have a spring back in them. Gypsum works it's way through the clay and makes it become more like soil.

Vegetables

The vegetables and fruit are doing well this year, keep the hoe going because the weeds are doing well also. The little skiffs of rain and all the sunshine we have been getting are doing the trick, the days are warm and the nights a little cooler, just right for growing. I am amazed that the white butterfly is still not about in my garden! not that I want them laying their eggs on my veg plants, long may it last.

Tomatoes will be getting taller and fruiting well now, the removal of over half the leaves on a plant will benefit your plants by letting the fruit have more nutrients, and eliminating shade from the ripening fruit and letting sun in to encourage flowering and allowing flowers to become more visible to insects for pollination. Try it and see if you get a better crop.

Cheers Linda

Gardening in North Otago 4th December 2010

It's dead heading roses time again, I have been laying the rose petals out on a resale table to dry for potpourri. The fragrance is wonderful as they dry and It is nice to have some on hand for confetti when there is a wedding in the garden. It is 6 weeks from cut to new bud at this time of the year.

I have found the old hellebore leaves that I had not removed are absolutely loaded in green fly!! I will cut every last one out and burn them so they do not fly off onto my waiting roses, the hellebores will make new leaves quickly.

It is so important right now to keep the water up to the roses, constant feeding and deep soaking at the roots will keep them healthy an not in need of a lot of spraying. A rose that is struggling will be susceptible to everything bad.

The night beetles are on the wing again, newly planted young trees are the worst targeted... they can strip the leaves right off, If this happens don't be too alarmed because another lot of leaves will grow and hopefully the beetles will have finished their business and laid their eggs to inflict next years grass grubs upon us! The way I dealt to them when our trees were young was to wait until just on dusk when they were thick on the trees tucking in, I then sprayed them with a kill on contact spray, this way you get rid of heaps of beetles and keep the future grass grub numbers down. Night beetles usually sleep through the day under a tree they are feeding on.

Spittle bug is here as well! this little blighter is very damaging to grass and the plants they choose to live on. The spittle is actually the sap from the plant they are feeding on which is taken in from the stem then excreted out to protect them from birds and to keep them moist.
Get rid of them as they lay eggs every 2 to 4 days. Insecticidal soap spray will get rid of them, it needs to make contact with them and will not kill eggs so keep the spraying up as new spittle bugs appear. If you would like to make your own spray try the recipe below.
Organic spittle bug killer recipe

1/2 cup hot peppers, diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups water
2 teaspoons liquid soap (without bleach)

Puree peppers, garlic and water together. Let sit for 24 hours. Strain and mix in the liquid soap. Spray ( not a forceful spray) all parts of the plant, it's the animal fat in the soap that dehydrates the bug so lightly spray off the spittle and make contact with the spray on the bug.

There is still time to get rid of weeds like biddy bid, their seeds are still green and will not spread and grow at this stage, where ever you see it pull it out, don't let the seeds ripen to grow hundreds more all over your garden. Convolvulus is another ramped weed growing right now, it has long runners that form a mat of roots just below the serface of the ground, if even a small section of root is left behind it will grow. Fat-hen is another weed that is not quite ripe yet and needs to be dealt to, all these weeds are easy to pull right now.
Most flag iris have flowered now so large clumps can be broken up and transplanted in a sunny spot. Prepare the bed by digging in fresh compost and some lime then plant, leaving half the root exposed to bake in the sun over summer. Long leaves can be cut half way back to a tent shape to reduce transpiration while reestablishing.　

　

While you can still see where your spring bulbs have been cover them with mulch to stop them drying out over summer, mushroom compost or any clean weed free compost is fine then you can plant annuals on top to fill the gaps. If large clumps of bulbs have flowered poorly this is a good time to break them up and plant out into smaller groups again using fresh compost to give them a good start.

　

The lawns are really doing their thing now after the moister days we have had, mine are looking good and I have just spot sprayed weeds and daisies as it is a good time while they are actively growing. Put liquid fertiliser in with the weed spry and feed the grass at the same time. Don't use sprayed grass clippings around the garden or in the compost, it is written on the spray container how long the with holding time is.

Some Montana clematis have finished flowering but wait a little longer before trimming back because they have not finished their new growth spurt yet which means if you do it now you will have to do it all over again in a couple of weeks. However wisterias can be dealt to now, if you already have nice strong flowering hard wood branches that flowered well and don't need any more remove all the new long trailers being put out, each and every one of these trailers if left, in time will grow into hard wood branches.
A wisteria is like a climbing tree and will take over and out grow it's place in no time if you let it.

Vegetables:
In the veg garden I have started to dig up the garlic and hang in a cool dry place, and I am picking broad beans which are producing well. Also Picking heaps of gooseberries before the birds get them.

I am madly planting out seedlings that I have grown from seed. The coolest time of the day is the best time to plant seedlings out, you are asking too much off them by planting in the heat of the day.
Don't feed leaf veg now or have the soil too rich, they will put out too much soft growth and bolt, all that is needed is moisture when dry.
I am experimenting with some of the plant concoctions to keep the white butterfly and aphids away.

there are lots of stinging nettle around now so I have followed a recipe which said Cut up 2lb of stinging nettle and leave in water for 24 hours, then sieve, so far so good but I really have not seen too many white butterflies around just yet.... I will let you know the results at a later date. The fish emulsion really dose work on the roses and is the best fertiliser for begonias but may fed the veg to richly I feel.

　

Cheers, Linda

A lovely early summer week just past in North Otago, the ground is warm and will grow anything as long as the water is kept up.
I have been spending a lot of time watering over the last few days, plants are at their best if moisture is consistently available. If plants, tree's or shrubs get too dry between watering they become stressed and this will lead to disease and poor growth.
Keep a eye on rhododendrons, after flowering they are intent on making seeds and as I mentioned last week the old flower heads need to be removed before they do start to set seeds. Removing all on very large rhododendron bushes is not possible but it is important to keep the water up to these large bushes through the warm seasons. Rhododendrons are very shallow rooted, if they dry out during this season it will not show up in the leaves until the next season when the leaf tips will go brown. If you would like to grow another rhododendron from one you have doing well in your garden try layering a branch down into a trench of river sand in the ground. Pin it down with bent wire and cover with sifted soil and compost. Place a rock on top of the branch if it wants to spring up. Keep the water up to the layered branch and it should send out roots. Leave until next spring before cutting from the Mother plant and bagging up to make more roots before planting out into the garden. Hydrangeas can be layered this way as well.


If you have a lot of forget-me-not just finished flowering don't pull it out, cut it back and let it grow again. forget-me-not is usually treated as an annual but if cut back I have found it becomes a perennial and clumps up into strong growing ground cover plants which will flower well again next spring.
Along with forget-me-not I have been cutting back other ground covers like aurbretia, iberis, phlox, erica's, and thyme. All of these will grow back into fresh clumps over summer.


In the past week I have been lifting branches on trees like flowering cherries,maples, oaks and any others that put out a lot of new growth over spring, All trees are designed to put out branches to shade their roots bit in a garden situation we usually have plants growing beneath them that require light.
Cut the offending branches back, and take out any branches which are crossing over others. If two branches are doing the same job take out completely to a slanted cut so the little remaining will not hold water.
Sterilize saws and loppers with spraying on diluted jays fluid or methylated spirits in between cuts on different flowering cherry trees to avoid spreading the dreaded contagious silver leaf should any of your trees be affected. You will know if you have a flowering cherry infected with silver leaf, leaves loose their dark sheen and become faded. There is no cure for this infection, eventually the tree will produce weak unhealthy growth.


Grapes are turning their flowers into fruit now, I have a few wine grapes planted growing along wires.
At this time of the year I shorten back the leaders to encourage new side shoots. I also have to cut out all new growth developing from below the trunk graft. This is the root stock which will undermine the main vine if not removed, the leaves are usually different from the grafted plant. Grape growth goes ballistic from now on, remove all new wild growth which will take necessary nutrients away from the fruiting Kane's.


Vegetables:
We are into bolting weather now, green leafy veg grow fast to seed before we can use them all, keep trimming and using or drying herbs to prevent them running to seed. Plant small amounts of seed in seed trays at 2 to 3 week intervals, once germinated water and feed with liquid fertiliser only when soil is dry on top, very wet soil will encourage fungus and the collapse very small seedlings. Plant well grown seedlings into the garden on overcast days.


Cover ripening strawberries, the birds will have their eye on them and will nab when ripe. Old net curtains or frost cloth will cover them from birds view while still letting needed light in for continued flowering and fruiting.


Cheers, Linda.

A nice down pour last weekend and welcome overcast weather for me as most of the box hedges have been trimmed here by Pete my hedge Man who makes a wonderful job while I follow behind and do the clean up.Once cut box hedge tends to sun burn on hot sunny days but this overcast week was just perfect to allow them time to recover.

If people are trimming soft hedges right now use the trimmings for mulch,I find soft trimmings perfect because their softness will break down quickly adding humus to the ground. I do this only with the soft hedge leaves at this time of the year, so with hedge trimmings, un-sprayed lawn clippings and spent blossom there are plenty of mulch choice's for your Rhododendrons.

This week I have made a start on dead heading rhododendrons and camellias that have flowered. This stops them from making seed which means that they are left to put everything into new growth. They can be feed now with a light dressing of acid fertiliser and mulched around the roots to keep the moisture in over the dry months This goes for azaleas as well once they have finished flowering.

Everything needing a boost here our garden I have given nitrofoska blue, lawns included because it will not cause burning like other dry fertiliser's on lawns if not watered in well, nutrients need to be kept up to plants and trees while they are making such rapid growth.


A lot of town gardens use bark as a mulch and start topping this up about now. Bark is fine to keep the weeds down but it takes a lot of good nitrogen out of the ground as it breaks down, using slow release fertilisers around plants surrounded by bark is a must for their on going health.

I have been rather ruthless on some deciduous shrubs in my garden earlier this year and good results are beginning to show now. There are some shrubs which need to be cut by a third every second year once they have reach the desired height or they will become too tall and woody. Lilac is one of these, it flowers on new seasons wood and each new lot of growth turns into hard wood which puts out new growth each year making the flowers higher and higher on the bush. After a number of years it will be only ugly bare branches at eye level. Other plants which need to be renewed by cutting back by a third and removing aged wood once they have reached the desired size are wigelia, the small pale pink trumpet shaped flowers which are covering their bushes right now, kolwotsia, long bell shaped pink flowers on woody arching shrubs flowering now, Philidelphous,mock brides blossom which is also flowering now with it's lovely white very fragrant flowers, it will flower the second year after being cut back. These three mentioned are all very old fashioned shrubs which will probably be found in older established gardens but very worth while growing. Most hard wood shrubs will start again as a bushy shrub if cut low in late winter or once finished flowering, don't be afraid to get the saw and loppers out and say goodbye to ugly leggy shrubs. Two years ago I cut hebe's and pittosporums and other natives which were all planted together right to the ground, they had all out grown their space. I thought some may die but no, they all regrew as new small shrubs and already they need to be trimmed again..

Our gardens are getting dry again and moisture is so important to the new growth of early summer, get that water deep down into the roots and mulch to keep it there.

The green fly have found my roses this week so I have been forced to deal to them with a systemic pesticide which I will continue with every 10 days for a while, but I will use fish emulsion on the vegetables to confuse the bugs who will see green veg but smell protein.

Keep planting out the vegetable plants at 2 week intervals so that you will all ways have fresh produce coming on. Keep the weeds at bay by using a push hoe between the rows while the weeds are tiny, it only takes a minute, weeding takes ages.

　

Cheers, Linda.

　

Gardening in North Otago 13th November 2010

Warm spring days with none of the winds we are usually getting at this time of the year, makes it perfect gardening weather.

As we all know here in North Otago the lack of spring and summer rain can be a problem and after many years trying to grow anything regardless of the conditions preferred, thinking as long as I kept the water up I could beat nature. I finally learned that it's a waste of time and money nursing plants that need warmer conditions and more rain than we have here.
Plants like hibiscus, banana, gardenia, palms, anything that requires a tropical seasonal rain is going to struggle. Bougainvillea is growing here on the coast, mine can be fine for a couple of years but other years the frost really knocks it back. Read the labels and make sure that our conditions are right for the plants on offer at this time of the year, for example there are some lovely pelagoniums on offer right now but I have yet to have one survive the winter in my garden, although I see them growing well on the south hill where the frosts are not so harsh so I guess it's a matter of looking at what is growing well in gardens close by and knowing that the same plants will do well in your garden.

I will now sing the praises of raised gardens, Some of the advantages of raised bed gardens include:

The soil warms up faster in the spring, and doesn't cool as fast in the autumn.

You don't have to bend far to work in the garden and access the plants

The soil has better drainage, so there is less disease.

You don't walk on the soil, so it doesn't get compacted, roots need air, and therefore compacted soil is very detrimental to plant growth.

A raised garden can be a garden feature as it has a specified geometry and form.

Studies have shown that a raised bed garden may be up to two times more productive per square foot compared to normal gardening techniques.

While you may make the raised bed garden to any shape there are some guidelines to follow. the garden can be any length that you want, but it shouldn't be more than 4ft wide so you can reach it comfortably from either side. It can be as high as you want it, but keep in mind that the higher you go, the more support you will need to build. Even a railway sleeper high raised bed will give benefits.

If it's a raised vegetable garden you would like then it must be built in a spot that gets all day sun. Raised beds for shade and moisture loving plants need to be closer to the damp ground, if they are raised too high the drainage will too great for these plants.

Fill your raised bed garden with fresh soil, compost, and well aged manure

If you choose to frame your raised garden with wood make sure not to use treated timber, this has been known to leach chemicals into the soil. While untreated wood will not last as long, it is a safer alternative. Rocks are an economical option but they tend to loose soil with rain and watering.
I have seen ready made wooden raised garden surrounds on offer, these would do the trick if space was a problem.
Roses:
Time to start spraying roses for green fly and disease if you have not already started. Shield takes care of both if you follow the instructions and spray at the suggested intervals. Keep the food up as they flower, it's hungry roses that are more susceptible to disease. Slow release rose fertiliser will feed each time you water.

The for-get-me-no'ts and spring bulbs have finished flowering, tie a knot in the leaves of daffodils rather than cut them off yet as they need to take all the top green into storage. Tulips collapse quickly and can be dug up and stored in a dry place until planting out again in May next year. Blue bells need to be left to seed if you want them in mass, they increase in the bulb but also seed successfully.

Keep the water up to Lillie's, they are making rapid growth now and hate drying out, stake them now before they become too heavy.

Vegetables:
Keep mounding the potatoes to keep them producing, consistent watering is important for potatoes now during this dry spell, this goes for all root vegetables.
Leafy veg tends to run to seed during theses hot days and don't need any extra feeding to help them do this. Plant as many plants you think you would use when ready to pick and hold back other small seedling plants from the same batch to plant at two week intervals. The small plants will hold if watered only when too dry (don't over water seedlings they do not have enough root growth to absorb and will rot, keep in a semi shady place until required for planting.
Keep pumpkin and squash plants mulched, their roots are fragile until their large leaves grow to create the root shade needed.
All new small plants can be over watered to the point where their roots cannot cope and they collapse, the soil should be dry on top between watering's and good drainage is essential .
Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 5th November 2010

Wonderful November weather leading up to last Friday's change to the south which lead to soggy blossom.
My roses are full of fat buds waiting to burst open, they still have no green fly or black spot attacking them , no doubt both will arrive eventually. I have just sprayed with Winter oil and fish emulsion combined to discourage them, the leaves are so soft and new it pays to do your spraying on a dull day so the sun will not burn through droplets and damage the leaves. No problem when the leaves have toughened up to spray in the sun. Never spray or water the leaves at dusk, they should be dry going into warm nights to prevent mildew growing.

Spring is the best time for transplanting seedlings that have popped up from existing plants in the garden, like last years hellebore seedlings. ( Winter rose) they should be nice strong small plants now so plant them out in groups under deciduous trees, or around rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas and fuchsias, they all like the same shady conditions.

Trim spent flowers from perennials and daisy bushes often to keep them bushy and continuously in flower, if you let flower heads go to seed the bush or plants will become woody.

If you would like to increase your chrysanthemum display for this coming autumn take tip cuttings NOW, put into river sand, keep them moist and every one should form roots to give you as many new plants as you need. Why not do more than you need to give to friends or the School or Church fair.

Planting on a slope:

Spring is also the time to plant out a slope or bank, the ground is moist and plant roots are growing fast which means they will get a good hold before the dreaded winds arrive.
Spray out all weeds, they will compete with moisture that your plants will need. If it is possible terracing a steep slope with rocks or sleepers would be beneficial to hold moisture around the roots.
If this cannot be done try not to disturbed soil / clay in areas that are not being planted. If the soil is disturbed and broken up it will wash away with rain and watering.
Planting;
Dig a hole that is deep into the bank and shallow at the front, (an angle hole) this will create a hollow reserve for water.
Make sure it dips down at the back for water to pool. Use stones around each plant, this will help in preventing wind blowing soil away from the roots.
Choose plants that grow in dry conditions, like South African plants; Greviller, leucodendron, Proteas, ask the Garden center assistant what survives well in a pot without a lot of watering. The plants they can leave for a while and they still look good when dried out. I have mass planted lupines to fill the gaps on my bank until all the other plants get bigger,
they give a spectacular show in the second year of planting.

I have been trimming the soft growth off some of my hedges this week, if a hedge has reached the height required best to take the soft growth off now before the foliage beneath gets too much protection from the new growth it has put out. The Winter hardened the under growth up and it should still be strong enough not to get sunburned. I am trying this with my box hedges this year because they have all reached the required height, I will be choosing an overcast day for the box to be trimmed which will allow them to recover with out the added stress of the hot sun.
If a hedge is not yet as tall and thick as required leave the new growth to harden off, but if you have to trim just do enough to tidy it up. I put all my soft trimmings on the garden as mulch.

Grass, Grass. Grass...So much mowing! If like me you have not had to spray the weeds out yet you can sprinkle your clippings around the garden, it is wonderful humus. Don't leave thick piles, spread it out so it can break down fast. Your garden can take as much fresh green growth that you can throw at it now the warmth is here to break it down. I have had excellent results from all the grass seed I have sown it is struck in places only a week from planting which has encouraged me to rake out every bare patch, add the wonderful sifted soil I have been hooked on lately, and plant grass seed like there is no tomorrow!

My no dig veg garden is still going strong, no weeds and the rough straw on top is a great deterrent to slugs. As a lettuce is used put a new lettuce plant back in its place. The raised beds that had the sheep invasion are waiting to be planted out again!!, I have seeds and plants lined up ready to plant once I am certain the fence will hold up.

Plant a green crop like mustard, oats or blue lupin now if you think your vegetable garden is could do with more humus, it will be up and ready to dig in a couple of weeks at this time of the year. Soil is not meant to be bare and exposed to the hot sun to dry out so growing a green crop in vacant areas and digging it in while it is soft, before it flowers will really benefit tired soil.

Cheers Linda.

Gardening in North Otago October 30th 2010

Another lovely week in North Otago after the best Labour week end weather for many years.
Our Kanzan cherry trees are creating pink lawns and drive way here, so pretty and now the beautiful Shimadzu sakura low spreading pale pink flowering cherries are in full bloom. These are truly beautiful and deserve a spot in every garden big enough to cope with them.

Weed spraying, lawn seed sowing and mowing has been keeping me pretty busy out here, the ground is very warm now for weeds to grow before your eyes, still time to pull out or hoe and spry before they make seed and spread every where. Just watch the spray around roses, they only need a sniff of a hormone weed spry to put out stunted deformed yellowing leaves and then eventually die back.
Roses are doing well now that the nights have warmed up, keep the food and deep root watering up to them as the bud up, foliar feeding on fresh new leaves works well now along with slow release fertiliser which ensures they are feed each time they are watered. healthy well fed roses are less likely to become diseased.
Cut back Erica's and callunas that have finished flowering, this stops them from going woody, and taking all the spent Flowers off will encourage them to produce fresh new green growth for summer. If you don't cut the old flowering growth off they will make their new growth out from the old flowering growth which means they become woody at the bottom.

Cut back aubrietia, rockery plant you will only get another flowering if you do.

Cut spent flowers off hellebore's so you get the full effect of their wonderful leaves

Ployathus: They have been wonderful over the Winter but now it's time to cut them back and shift to a shady spot. They can be planted out in a sunny spot again early next Winter.

Keep feeding lawns when rain is about, powdered fertilisers need to be washed well in to stop it burning lawns during hot sunny days.

PLANT, PLANT, PLANT all Flower plants & seeds.

Vegetables:

I planted out pumpkin and squash plants that I have grown from seed, they need a large prepared area for them to ramble with a lot of compost and old stable manure dug in. The leaves will always let you know when they need water.

If you have a glass house or tunnel house why not plant some peppers, they can grow high so when their stems are strong enough bang in a stake and attach a string from the stake to the roof to support them as they grow up.

Raspberry Kane's and strawberries are doing a lot of growing now as well, They both flower and fruit up really quickly as long as they get all day sun they will ripen fast. These berries and new seasons peas are perfect for encouraging Children into the garden they all learn the results are well worth the wait.

Keep manure enriched compost up to rhubarb, if the soil gets hard and dry around rhubarb it will grow stringy dry uneatable steams.

Keep picking herbs to stop them going to seed, dry what you don't use and store away until the months when they are not available.

Drying herbs :Pick in the full heat of the day, lay out on news paper in a dry airy place until crisp, (all moisture must be gone). Then rub together into sprinkle sized bits and store in brown paper bags or glass jars.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 22nd October 2010

A chilly few days here in North Otago this week with the odd frost, I am finding some soft new growth still being effected by the cold. Hydrangea's, peony roses, agapantha's and even the new growth on roses are not enjoying the cold nights. They will recover and keep growing as it warms up then the the damaged growth can be removed.

Weeds are in full force now! I can not believe how many have been pulled from our garden, mostly biddy bid, chick weed and convolvulous. Weeds need to be removed before they make seed or, you will be chasing them forever.

I have been potting up seedlings grown from seed, lupins, Oriental poppies, delphiniums, penstamains and nasturtiums. It is best to pot seedlings on into individual pots for roots to become established before planting out.
Strong growing plants like sun flowers and delphinium seeds need to be planted straight into peat pots and once the pot is filled with new roots plant pot and all into the ground, the strong roots will grow out through the pot as it breaks down.
Companion planting:
With all the planting that is going on right now it is time to think about companion planting.
Gardeners have past successful companion planting knowledge down through the years for us to follow. Some plants give off an aroma that is disliked by unwanted insects and others are thought to enhance the growth of certain plants if planted along side them.
Nasturtium attract caterpillars, so planting it alongside or around vegetables such as lettuces, broccoli and cabbages should mean the nasturtium will get attacked rather than your edible crop.
Fox Gloves have stimulating effects on all plants in the garden, a welcome addition to the flower and veggie garden.
Marigolds have a scent that repels aphids and attracts hoverflies, which are predator insects
Tagetes, the lovely little tagetes, or French marigold, is invaluale in companion planting. Cabbage white butterfly are attracted to their host plant by smell and planting rows of tagetes is effective in masking the smell and reducing cabbage moth damage. A secretion from the roots of the Mexican tagetes deters eelworms and your potatoes and tomatoes are left alone.
Tagetes are also said to kill couch grass, this would be a pretty trial which I plan to put in place in a couch filed area in our garden.
Tagetes and calendula marigolds planted near tomatoes and roses will reduce aphid attack as the marigolds will attract the hoverflies that are voracious eaters of these pests.
Basil and tomatoes are a well-known combination; the strong smelling foliage makes these plants great companions.
Garlic, chives and parsley can be benificial planted with Roses. The herbs deter aphids from the roses.
Dill is popular with bees and attracts them into the garden. Dill planted with corn will ensure a bumper crop, as more bees will be around to pollinate the corn strings.
Marigolds, plant marigolds in the veg patch, glass house and flower garden.
Sage is also a great herb to plant around the celery crop, as it helps to keep the aphids away.
Hyssop repels white butterfly from cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli and other brassica crops.
Carrots and leeks work well planted together, they both have strong aromas, which repel other’s pests.
I have been planting out more wild flowers but this time I am using fertiliser bags filled with sifted soil and compost. I stapled the open end of the bags closed, lay them length wise and cut a few slits for drainage on the underside then cut a large rectangled opening on the top to plant out in wild flowers.
In the past I have planted wild flowers directly into the ground but weeds germinated along with the flower seeds and choked them out. This way it will be only the flowers that germinate. I have placed the bag gardens in gaps where spring bulbs are dieing down and covered the bag with the pea straw already on the garden leaving the planted area open to light and rain.

Hosta's are pushing fresh new leaves out for waiting slugs! put sharp gravel under hosta's and spray with fish emulsion to deter them. I have 6 little Peking bantams who take care of snails and slugs in my garden. because they are very short in the leg their scratching is minimal compared to long legged hens.

Vegetables:
My raised veg gardens had a visit from a very large ewe this week, she was working her way over them when I came across her and gave her a short shift! She trimmed back all the herbs, carrots, lettuce, brassica, ignored the leeks and broad beans and was just starting on the peas and potatoes!!
The herbs will benefit from the trim and planting new veg is not a problem at this time of the year so not all bad. (it's the fence that is the problem)

With all the fruit trees in blossom it's sunny days we need to keep the bees busy working at pollinating along with the help of windy days. Keep the water up to them and mulch with un -sprayed grass clippings right out to their drip line, they have a lot of work ahead of them growing juicy fruit.

The garden is looking very pretty right now and is open this long week end for viewing should people be interested in taking a drive out to Weston.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 16th October 2010

What a lovely week it has been weather wise ,the Kanzan cherry trees are in full bloom right now and look glorious, these are the bright pink double blossom vase shaped tree's. Most years they come out and the wind takes the blossom within a few days.
I have been sifting soil again this week for resowing the patches in lawn and using to add body to gardens and pots, baskets and seed trays. With all the mulches used today gardens become light and fluffy and don't hold moisture. Sifted soil is the answer, spread it on top and it will wash in beneith the mulch with each watering.

Spring bulbs are finishing now, don't be tempted to cut leaves off just yet the bulbs top up on food for next year from the leaves as they die back. I was lucky enough to score a boot full of bulbs this week, they were not wanted in a Duntroon garden getting ready for a revamp. Always happy to take a spade and adopt bulbs, thank you once again to the kind lady who offered them. I will let the leaves die off and plant them in the Autumn.

I have had to pull quite a few lavenders out this year because they have reached the end of their growing, After their trim back at the end of Winter they were not making a lot of new growth. Just a little bit here and there and most of the plant staying woody. If you have the odd lavender doing this pull it out and replace it with a fresh plant. I noticed last year that some plants were not as strong so I put in cuttings from stronger growing ones which I can plant out now to fill the gaps.
Take tip cuttings now dip them in hormone and push them into firm river sand, they will make roots over the Spring and summer then you can plant them out next Spring.

Tip cuttings from, hebe's, and chrysanthemum can also be taken now, as long as the stems snap off when bent they are ready, if they don't then they are still too soft. Now is the time to cut back the new growth on tall growing chrysanthemums for the first time, then when they put up another lot of new growth cut them back again. They do not flower until the Autumn and if you let them flower on their third lot of new growth they should grow shorter and be more manageable.
Prune fuchsias back now and they will make new fresh growth, they flower on their new wood so can be taken well back.

Too early yet to trim my box hedges, wait until the new growth firms up a little. The perfect time to trim box in spring is when there are a few overcast days in a row, the hot sun burns new undergrowth, dull days give them time to recover.

It's time to think about Dahlias in the garden for summer colour. If you have a sunny spot that needs a bit of brightening up how about putting in a few dahlia tubers they are so reliable and there are some beautiful shades and varieties on offer now, tall, medium and dwarf. They are just starting to make a move so if you want colour to continue in your garden when the spring show is over dahlias will do the trick. If you choose some and get them into those gaps now they will be up and flowering in no time. Dahlias like a warm full sun free draining spot, the tubas will rot if planted in ground that stays wet.

Vegetables:
Tomatoes are in the shops now for those with glass houses, prepare the soil well by digging in good organic compost. This will need to have been heated to the point of all fungus disease being eradicated. Because our summers here in North Otago are on the cooler side and a glass or tunnel house is the a must if wanting to be a serious tomato grower. However a glass house is a perfect incubator for fungus disease during nights and dull days when moisture is not taken up quickly by plants, never let tomato plant leaves go into the night wet.
There are a lot of varieties to choose from.
Beefsteak, the big tomato best for sandwiches & cooking,
Early girl, stars producing early and keeps on until late in the season,
Potentate, medium/small firm with moderate acidity and low in sugar,
Money maker, medium size and good flavor ,
Doctor Walter is the very low acid tomato
Cherry tomato's, the plant you can grow in a pot inside or on a porch, great for kids lunch boxes.
Russian red a tomato to grow outside in a sunny spot protected from the wind.
Heirloom tomatoes have become popular, they don't look great but they have the great taste of yesteryear.
There are others that I have not mentioned, nearly all need staked and tied up in the glass house and ALL tomato's like sun all day, 6 to 8 hours and it helps the fruit if there are fewer leaves on the plants. Tomato leaves compete for nutrients, create unwanted shade and harbour disease.

Keep planting vegetable seeds directly into the garden but don't sow too thickly mix seeds with fine soil when sowing and you may not have to thin seedlings out.
Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 12th September 2010

Spring is sitting pretty so far and doing all it should be doing here in North Otago, the public and private gardens are fresh and colourful.
We have the first wedding of the new season here in our garden this weekend so I have been really busy this week getting it into wedding mode, plenty of blossom and spring colour about so all good.

Now that it's planting out time and there is a lot on offer it's probably a good time to talk about plants for the right place. starting with
dry areas of the garden, under hungry trees or areas that drain too readily. You will be wasting your time and money planting shallow rooted plants like rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas or hellebore's in these areas. It's best to group plant with plants that will work their roots down to look for moisture like:
Euphorbias in all their varieties, colours and sizes.
Agapanthus: Large and small varieties they are great on a slope
Buddleias: To fill back ground gaps, lovely sliver blue foliage and blue to cerise/ purple flowers, must be cut back well after
flowering to keep bushy and at the height you require them to be.
Grass's: grouped together as they are in nature do well in the dry and add movement to the garden as they waft in the wind.
Geraniums: They need water until their roots get down and also need cut back after flowering.
Lupins: Are wonderful in big groups but need water until they become established, after the first flowering they will self seed to make their groups larger.
All these plants once established will not need watering.

(Shady areas next week.)

Bedding plants
All bedding plants need attention once planted, water and foliage feeding. I have found planting annuals in sifted soil gives them a good start. I had been sifting soil for resowing patches in the lawn and decided to use the sifted soil as a top layer to the soil before planting annuals and seeds to get the same good results I am getting with the grass seed germinating.
Sifted soil is so fine and packs round new roots firmly so they don't dry out, and is soft and fine allowing roots to grow quickly.

Hydrangea's are popular again, they are leafing up now and will need fed ready for their long flowering season, animal manure is a good food source for them ( not fresh) they are shallow rooted so need watered often. To keep pink use a little lime around the drip line and for blue you use aliumn sulphate or epson salts, These must be watered in and not just left on top of the roots.

.Ponds: I know talked about ponds not long ago but with the warmer weather weather quickening up pond growth it's time to watch for slime developing which is harmful to fish when getting caught in their gills.
If you haven't cleaned out your pond do it now, I have been removing the duck weed that has sat on top of my ponds during the Winter.
Over the Winter months it turns a rusty red colour with the cold and stops growing but at this time of the year it takes off again and multiplies so fast it can cover a pond in a matter of day's.
I used to curse it but now I wait for it to grow and scoop it out to put on the garden as a Summer mulch. If you have fish & water lilies you must remove duck weed now to let the sun in. Water lilies are starting to make leaf now and need sun to bud up.
I will tackle the oxygen weed next, that is also very good as a mulch on the garden, I will remove half of it soon before the fish start to breed in the warmer water and blow their eggs into it.
When I added fish to my ponds I just put in some oxygen weed from a pond full of fish and the baby fish all hatched out. With no other older fish in the pond to eat the eggs and hatching's in the oxygen weed they had no predators so all survived.
A good way of clearing a pond after Winter is to flood it, most of the rubbish will float off. Don't stir up the bottom as long as the water is clear on top then the pond is working.
If a pond fills with green slime in the warmer weather it means that there is too much nitrogen in the water, maybe fertiliser drifted in when the lawn or garden was being feed. Or if you feed the water lilies with Manure some may have leached out into the water.
. If you have a large pond put in a bale of old straw and just leave it to rot down. If your pond is small break some squares from a bale and weight them down to the bottom. This works wonders on murky pond water and will get the pond working and clear in no time.

Vegetable garden:
Keep molding up potatoes as they show leaf, this keeps them cooler allowing more time for them to grow a bigger crop.
FIRST EARLY VARIETIES: Cliffs Kidney, Jersey Bennes, Maris Anchor, Rocket.

SECOND EARLY Ilam Hardy, Karaka, Red king.

MAINCROP VARIETIES: Desiree, Mondial, Nadine, Pentland Dell, Red Rascal, Rua

I have sown mixed lettuce seeds in a tray and plan to transplant them into the garden as i need them, lettuce seedlings will hold in a tray for a long time and then really start growing when they are planted, fed and watered.


Cheers Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 2nd October 2010

October
This month is where chasing weeds becomes a full time job - Hoeing and hand pulling weeds is still the best option in planted areas.
If you are clearing a garden to plant out for a summer show I suggest clear all annual weeds, pull out, or dig well under. Couch grass needs to be taken right out, get each long runner under the ground and any little pieces that may have been chopped with the spade, they grow and spread very fast if left, I spot spray Couch with round up now in badly effected areas.
Once all obvious weeds are gone cover the area with organic compost, thick enough to keep the light from allowing any seeds left behind from weeds to germinate. Organic compost, mushroom compost, any medium that has been heated to the point of destroying any seeds that it once contained. NOW plant,plant, plant! as many annuals and perennials as you can into the prepared area. They will grow really fast from now on and beat any weed seeds blown in or dropped by birds.
Moisture and liquid feeding for new plantings is the key to success as they settle in and make new feeding roots, first thing in the morning is the best time to do this giving plants and dirt time to dry off before night time, fungus thrives in damp ground on mild nights.
Mulching is really important now, the areas I mulched with pea straw in late winter are holding the moisture around trees and shrubs and watering is not required. Pea straw looks ok in shrubberies but I do not use it in ornamental gardens where I plant annuals and find these gardens need watered often from now on.

If you have not feed plants, roses or shrubs do it now, powered plant food should always be watered in, if you have home compost ready add eight parts (by weight) blood & bone and one part sulphate of pot ash this will to add food and a flowering and fruiting component. I often mention using old stable manure around roses which they love and will keep them going over their long flowering period, however I to stress on no account should the manure be dug in as this can cause root damage, watering will take it to the roots as required. Keep this compost / fertiliser at least a hand's- breadth from the trunks and steams and extend out just beyond the drip line enabling the food to be on the outer third of of this circle where the most active feeding roots are.

Camellias finished flowering can be trimmed and shaped now, take out branches from the middle if your bush is dense and bushy. This lets the light in to help form next years buds.There should be enough gaps for a bird to fly through to allow good bud forming for next spring. A lot are still flowering so enjoy the flowers a while longer.

Hosta's are starting to leaf now, so watch when working around them in the garden, it will not take much to knock the point off the new leaves. Give them a dressing of compost and blood & bone and get the slug bate around them, keep them moist from now on and they will clump up and reward you well.

I have been noticing a few cherry blossom trees with root stock branches being left to grow. By this I mean any branches that develop below the graft (where the branches begin at the top of the trunk); these should be cut off while still small. If they are allowed to develop into branches they will take over the whole tree because they will grow faster than the grafted stock. All flowering cherry trees are grafted onto a strong root stock of a very ordinary white blossom tree so if you have a tree with lovely pink or white blossom and you notice some blossom looks different then most likely it will be a branch growing from below the graft, cut it right out.


Lawns are really going for it now and need fed often during their growing season, have some lawn fertiliser on hand for the next decent rain we get as this is the very best time to apply lawn fertiliser to established lawns. If applied in dry sunny weather it is likely to burn grass off. Don't fertilise newly struck grass, all fertilisers will be too strong.
I planted grass seed last Saturday and it has already struck letting me know the ground is warm enough now for germination so I will keep sowing seed in the bare patches left by the grass grubs.

Vegetable garden
The shops are full of veg, herb plants and seeds, tomatoes plants and seed potatoes, from now on it is so easy to grow your own food.
If you do not have an existing vegetable garden but you do have a patch of vacant ground, clear it, dig it or rotary hoe it, edge it with what ever you have on hand , lime stone blocks, tree branches or sleepers. Spray the weeds around the outside of your edging so they will not encroach on your planting space then go for it, get planting at this time of the year everything will grow fast and grow well as long as you keep the water up and hoe the weeds away. Compost will be needed only on ground that had large tree's or hedges growing near by because vacant soil will have all the plants require.
Corn and pumpkins need to be planted now to assure the long ripening season they need.
If it's a Herb garden you are keen to make then top dress with old stable manure and lime, all herbs like both. Plant up some mixed herb pots now and they will be ready to give as Christmas presents.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago september 24th 2010

What a cold week, so much damage done in our garden with magnolias and camellias browning of and new growth blackened and wilting.
Spring is so unpredictable and now we are getting the cold wind chills, very difficult gardening weather.

This week all our gravel paths have had a work over, they pack down hard over winter and need grubbing and raking to get them weed free and looking fresh again. We use crushed marble from the Dunback Quarry this includes a good amount fines in the mix which help the gravel settle nicely.

When the wind dies down I have had the sprayer on the go again to beat the weeds, if only the annual flowers I have planted would grow as fast!
If you do not want to use chemical sprays on annual weeds why not try some of the natural alternatives on sale, these work on hot sunny days when plants are very thirsty.The leaf of the plant collapses which means there is nothing left to support the roots causing the plant to die.
Perennial weeds like convolvulus and couch grass are not so easy to kill with alternative weed spray because their roots are long and strong but if you are prepared to keep at them, spraying what they send up you will beat them.

The most economical weed control is good old common table salt, purchased in bulk or in kilo bags at agricultural outlets. Use it at the rate of 240 grams (about 12 heaped tablespoons) to a litre of warm or hot water to dissolve it, and then spray it on the foliage of the weeds, again in sunny dry conditions.
This works very fast on annual weeds but perennials probably needing further salt treatment.
If spraying only the foliage, at the above rates, there will be, little residual damage done to the soil. To make absolutely sure, give the area a good watering after the weeds have died.

Trim shrubs that flowered in late winter now before they put out new growth on past growth and get leggy, this partially applies to ericas, callunas and hebes which should not have old flowers left on to make seed.

All of this month is the time to layer azaleas and rhododendrons and low growing magnolias by pinning a low growing slim branch down to the soil and firming in with compost and soil. Hopefully by the end of this growing season this branch will have developed strong roots allowing it to be cut free from the mother plant and potted up to grow on as a new bush.

The wind is putting stress on plants, trees & shrubs producing new growth, their roots are working hard and moisture is a must deep root watering is best and newly planted shrubs and trees need to be really well staked, if trunks and roots are moving around growth will be slow and stunted or not at all.

I mentioned tubular begonias last week and should have added to bed them down into damp(not wet) sawdust or peat until they are sprouting well before potting or planting out. Once you you do this they must never dry out again until its time to store them again.

With the days warming up soft cuttings can be taken from plants and shrubs this month and dipping in hormone to get them started is beneficial to encourage roots quickly. Cuttings can be taken from new growth on delphiniums, chrysanthemums, and many perennial herbs. Try soft cuttings from any plants you would like to have more of.

Herbs
If you have not cut your herbs back yet do it as soon as possible because they are really starting to grow now, feed manure rich compost with lime added and keep picking often to encourage continual new growth all season for your salads and cooking.

Vegetables:
Still no white butterfly's about (in my garden) keep planting out but with the winds deep watering is required. Keep mounding up potatoes as they push leaf through and cover at night should there be another cold snap which will blacken off new growth.
My peas are well up and starting to climb. Like climbing beans they need to be planted in an open sunny place and support has to go in when they are planted so they are not disturbed once they start growing. Once supported well you will not have to keep propping them up in the strong winds we get.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 23rd September 2010

Hi Terry & Frances,
What a cold week, so much damage done in our garden with magnolias and camellias browning of and new growth blackened and wilting.
Spring is so unpredictable and now we are getting the cold wind chills, very difficult gardening weather.

This week all our gravel paths have had a work over, they pack down hard over winter and need grubbing and raking to get them weed free and looking fresh again. We use crushed marble from the Dunback Quarry this includes a good amount fines in the mix which help the gravel settle nicely.
Lawns;
Weeds and moss need to go, spot spraying flat weeds is better than weed spraying the whole lawn and upsetting the worms and other little do gooders in the soil. I watered sulphate of iron on my moss this week at the rate of 300grams / 10 liters of water will cover 10 sq miters. I used a watering can and the moss is now black an almost ready to rake out.

When the wind dies down I have had the sprayer on the go again to beat the weeds, if only the annual flowers I have planted would grow as fast!
If you do not want to use chemical sprays on annual weeds why not try some of the natural alternatives on sale, these work on hot sunny days when plants are very thirsty.The leaf of the plant collapses which means there is nothing left to support the roots causing the plant to die.
Perennial weeds like convolvulus and couch grass are not so easy to kill with alternative weed spray because their roots are long and strong but if you are prepared to keep at them, spraying what they send up you will beat them.

The most economical weed control is good old common table salt, purchased in bulk or in kilo bags at agricultural outlets. Use it at the rate of 240 grams (about 12 heaped tablespoons) to a litre of warm or hot water to dissolve it, and then spray it on the foliage of the weeds, again in sunny dry conditions.
This works very fast on annual weeds but perennials probably needing further salt treatment.
If spraying only the foliage, at the above rates, there will be, little residual damage done to the soil. To make absolutely sure, give the area a good watering after the weeds have died.

Trim shrubs that flowered in late winter now before they put out new growth on past growth and get leggy, this partially applies to ericas, callunas and hebes which should not have old flowers left on to make seed.

All of this month is the time to layer azaleas and rhododendrons and low growing magnolias by pinning a low growing slim branch down to the soil and firming in with compost and soil. Hopefully by the end of this growing season this branch will have developed strong roots allowing it to be cut free from the mother plant and potted up to grow on as a new bush.

The wind is putting stress on plants, trees & shrubs producing new growth, their roots are working hard and moisture is a must deep root watering is best and newly planted shrubs and trees need to be really well staked, if trunks and roots are moving around growth will be slow and stunted or not at all.

I mentioned tubular begonias last week and should have added to bed them down into damp(not wet) sawdust or peat until they are sprouting well before potting or planting out. Once you you do this they must never dry out again until its time to store them again.

With the days warming up soft cuttings can be taken from plants and shrubs this month and dipping in hormone to get them started is beneficial to encourage roots quickly. Cuttings can be taken from new growth on delphiniums, chrysanthemums, and many perennial herbs. Try soft cuttings from any plants you would like to have more of.

Herbs
If you have not cut your herbs back yet do it as soon as possible because they are really starting to grow now, feed manure rich compost with lime added and keep picking often to encourage continual new growth all season for your salads and cooking.

Vegetables:
Still no white butterfly's about (in my garden) keep planting out but with the winds deep watering is required. Keep mounding up potatoes as they push leaf through and cover at night should there be another cold snap which will blacken off new growth.
My peas are well up and starting to climb. Like climbing beans they need to be planted in an open sunny place and support has to go in when they are planted so they are not disturbed once they start growing. Once supported well you will not have to keep propping them up in the strong winds we get.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 18th September 2010

The ever changing weather of spring certainly came into focus this week, for me it has been on again off again frost cloth.
In the garden
I have been enjoying planting out bedding plants and putting the finishing touches to new garden theme designs this week. I think every gardener enjoys trying new plants and colour combinations. I had a large clump of lambs ear growing in my rockery which did not need to be so large so I dug half of it out and broke it up into single plants to use around the border of a garden and as silver drifts in amongst low annuals.Silver is a shade to use as a break between strong and soft shades, will grow in sun or semi shade and lambs ear has the added bonus of being an interesting texture as well.

Keep an eye on seeds which have germinated, up until now I have had mine under frost cloth and looked at them only occasionally to see if they had struck. This week I noticed they were well up and in need of thinning out and regular watering.
I thinned them out by transplanting some like Pansy and lobelia which have shallow roots into deeper seed trays and those with longer deeper roots like lupin and poppy into their own individual small root pots. The shallow rooted plants transplant well into the garden or baskets from a tray but it is best to have a well developed root ball attached to the stronger deeper rooted seedlings when planting out.

Baskets and pots need to be thought about now, again use only shallow rooted plants for baskets like pansy, lobelia, small type petunias, Virginia stock and nasturtium with lots of slow release fertiliser and water Chrystal's to keep them going.
With pots, the roots of what you want to plant will determine the size and depth of the pot. Potted roses need a deep pot which will not heat up and cook the roots at the height of summer. Tin foil around the inside of a pot before filling,( shinny side facing out) will help keep roots cool for roses, camellias, azales', hydrangeas and small trees & shrubs. All potted plants need excellent drainage and a consistent supply of food and water. if a potted plant is left to really dry out before each watering it will never thrive and look lush and healthy.

Now is the time to take tubular begonias out of dry storage, I see mine are starting to sprout a little. I have been cutting large tubas with a sharp knife into smaller individual pieces each with a noticeable shoot ready to plant into baskets and containers.
The showy red flamboyant begonias become nice big tubas in time and by cutting sections off them each year you will achieve a nice boarder of them in no time. It's best to lift them at the end of their growing season each year because like dahlias they can rot in really wet ground like it has been this year. All begonias love any fertiliser with a seaweed of fish content.

I have just planted wild flower seeds thickly into big plastic containers which I plan to use as gap fillers in my long perennial boarders once Lillie's and other spring and summer flowering plants have finished. I am wanting these flowering blocks of mixed wild flowers to last right through until the beginning of next winter, which they will do if I keep dead heading them. Mixed wild flower seeds can be bought

Roses are really leafing up now and the warmer it becomes the more aphids ( green fly) will be about, aphids settle on the top new growth of rose bushes and are easily visible on new small leaves for you to dispose of them by removing with finger and thumb. I leave spraying until leaves are well grown and and hardened up a little.

New lawns sown now on the coast and as soon as we have a few nice sunny days in a row to warm the ground up the grass seed will strike, as I have mentioned before seed must be sown thickly in spring to beat the annual weeds.
Keep the mower blades up when cutting spring grass to allow it to thicken up and feed a little each time it rains and they will stay lush..


Vegetables
Here on the coast Plant lettuce plants at two week intervals and any spare ground could be planted out in new potatoes, they are so much better dug just before you cook them.
My board beans are well up, I was once told to plant each bean with a little pot ash to help with rust problems, they still get a little rust but I think that's probably due to them getting too dry between watering's, like corn their roots are well up near the surface, mounding soil up over their roots stops roots becoming exposed and drying out too quickly.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 11th September 2010

Not a lot of sun again this week and moisture we really don't need but spring is still happening with such lovely blossom everywhere.

This week with an energetic helper we removed all the bog iris from my big pond, this was a much needed job because the iris was spreading so fast and took up a quarter of the pond,( lesson learned, don't plant yellow bog iris in a domestic pond) The place for this iris is along the banks of a creek, the fibrous roots are fantastic at holding the sides of a creek back from erosion.

Cut out all the dead branches from beneath Kilmarnoch willows if you have them, this is the ornamental pussy willow used so often now in small gardens. Each new branch grows out from the bud of last years growth. All subsequent years growth dies and builds up under the new growth. The grafted weeping tree is much nicer to look at with all those dead branches removed.

The popular Robinia mop top also required a clip back of all its last years branch growth. Removing the branches will encourage new bushy growth.

After the wind last Sunday night you will have been shown what was needing staked in your garden as I was shown in mine. I had one well grown Ake Aake tree blown over which has left a huge gap, thankfully I have a youngish cornus tree needing a new home once the chain saw has done it's job. Those freak winds are always a possibility at this time of the year and firm stakes will save young trees but the quicker growing trees like Ake Ake, gums, wattles and virgilias are all ways susceptible when large and top heavy.

Keep feeding new spring growing plants (other than bulbs ) with liquid plant food to encourage strong growth.

Lawns need to be feed as well, best time to do this if using dry fertiliser is when it's raining, or now would be a good time to use the liquid weed and feed option as lawn weeds are on the move.
With the soil now warming up I have been sowing grass seed in areas of lawn that have thinned out over winter. Seed must be sown thickly at this time of the year to beat and smother weeds that insist on growing when sowing a spring lawn. I use fine sifted soil to cover seeds before the birds get a look at what I am up to. If birds do find sown seed, cover the area with wind break or frost cloth pinned down until signs of germination.

Vegetables:

Get pumpkin, butternut and squash seeds started now, they need a long warm growing season to grow and ripen.

It is good to be planting salad veg again, keep planting leafy veg as you use the veg you have carried over the winter months...still no white butterflies or aphids about in my garden. As an early season deterrent start spraying fish emulsion on both veg and flowering plants. This will feed the plants and repel pests by fooling them into thinking their favorite food is now protein not vegetable. Have some ready in a spray bottle to repeat after rain.



Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago September 3rd 2010

SEPTEMBER,the season of new beginnings and this past week has convinced me that spring has arrived in Weston after a later start than past years, more sunny days needed I feel.
Everyday something new is happening in our garden, sweet peas, ranunculus, anemones and tulips are through and putting on good growth each day. I am now watching what is pushing through the pea straw and clearing a space to let them through and needed light in.
I have very wide perennial boarders which insist on growing couch, biddy- bid, and chick-weed which I try to get rid of now while still small and while all the flowering plants are still low, with the ground still being so wet they all pull out easily. While doing this weeding I can see what needs attention like delphiniums needing stakes in to give support while growing, removing mulch from around iris rhizomes and peony rose crowns and removing self sown plants and natives before they settle in.

The weeds are off to a flying start as well, I have been spraying over the last two weeks and notice the first lot has worked, so all good, get them before they flower and make seed. There are organic weed sprays on the market that work best when weeds are new and small so now is the time.
All plants, shrubs and trees will respond to feeding now, the sap is well up and buds are swelling and bursting open. We have a number of deciduous magnolia trees and they are taking center stage right now with beautiful blooms pushing through their huge furry buds.
Liquid feeding on all perennials and bedding plants making growth and a good general fertiliser for trees and shrubs to help them along now.
Azaleas and tulips are the exception, azaleas like fed after flowering and tulips store enough food in the bulb for their requirements. if you load them up with more they will grow more leaf than needed and hide the blooms. (No feeding for Australian or South African shrubs such as leucodendron, protea, waratah and grevillea.)

I cut the old growth from the cat-mint this week, I leave it on over the colder months to protect the new growth, once the new leaves are seen to be making good growth the old can be removed.

It's time to dress your garden for late spring and summer, think colour and where you want it and what colour is needed where, at this time of the year concentrate on the sunny areas in the garden because these will be the warmest to get bedding pants and perennials moving. There are still roses on offer and they do not need to all grow together in a rose bed, use them as gap fillers in boarders. To give those new to roses an idea of what to look for I will list the different types below.
ROSES (modern type)

There is a rose for every sunny situation and a few that will tolerate light shade.

Miniature Roses

A dwarf growing bush rose with all parts scaled down. Their height will be listed on the label - I find these not as long lived as the larger bush rose.
If you have one that is not performing now, and has been growing for a few years, dig it out, change the soil and plant another.

PATIO ROSES
About knee high for front boarder planting, about 80 cm apart when grouping.
These can be grown in containers as long as the roots are cool and they are fed right through the growing season.

FLORIABUNDA
Flowers grow in clusters - bushes grow to about waist high on average, space these about 1mtr apart when grouping. Cut off spent flower clusters and they will reward you with masses of colour right through the growing season.

HYBRID TEA
This is the rose to give you the large exhibition one steam bloom. They grow about chest high. These are the picking rose and need feeding well right through the growing season to give the best results.

The secret to keeping roses free from disease is to remove all last years' diseased wood and leaves from the ground around them and burn. Keep the food up to the bushes, starting now while they are beginning to leaf and continue right through until the end of summer. Manure enriched compost around them now will feed and protect the roots but keep it off the graft. Blood & bone, vormacast or the liquid form is also good right now. When the ground warms up a little sprinkle the man made balanced rose fertiliser around them, these fertilisers have been designed to promote just the right amount of leaf and flower growth, and need the warmer soil to activate. Don't waste them by using them too soon.
I have learned through selling and growing roses which are the good doers and which are the poor - But in saying that there are growers of roses that raise better healthier roses than others.
From my experience a rose-planted bare rooted in the winter or early spring will do better for me than a rose planted going into the summer.
But I understand the new gardener likes to see the bloom's before buying and now days a large range of roses are on offer in the late Spring, bagged, in bud and flower ready to plant. They take a little more care to become settled.

Here I am heading on into summer already! but at the same time enjoying the spring splendor happening around me right now.

Vegatables
All green crops need to be dug in now, before they flower and get stringy. Keep planting seeds and seedlings and enjoy the absence of white butterfly! I worked on my gooseberry bushes last year and again this week,Thinning branches before the leaves arrive out and cutting up the bottom branches to get the bushes higher off the ground for picking.
I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, so much easier to pick the fruit from underneath and not have to fight my way through a tangled mess of prickly branches.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 28th August 2010

Some nice sunny days this week to help spring come to life.
The Garden centers are fulling up with wonderful well grown bedding plants, some even in flower which makes me think they will need protection in the garden when planted out right now. The best idea is to buy while there is a good selection on offer and hold them in a sheltered place to harden off for a week or two before planting out.
Roses on sale now are all leafing up in their bags, it is still ok to plant them for a while yet while the ground is moist and cold. They will be making feeder roots into the potting mix in their bags so planting will need to done carefully from now on so not to disturb those new feeder roots.
Trees and shrubs
There are some lovely magnolias and michelia's on offer now as well, they are all in bud and look as if they need hardened off before planting, to get plants to look as good as that this early in the South Island spring they will have had some pretty special growing conditions. One lovely small magnolia I noticed was called Fairy blush, it is an evergreen which grows bushier and smaller than the original grandiflora magnolias. This one can be grown as a hedge or in a large pot. magnolias resent having their fleshy roots disturbed so be very careful when planting.

Keep an eye on the flowering camellias and rhododendrons now in the garden centres, most are showing buds and flowers, this is the time to choose the right shades for your garden
Herbs
With the popular modern cooking trend these days a kitchen herb garden is a pleasure to grow and have close to the house.
It is wonderful to be able to pluck needed herbs from your kitchen garden like parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, bay, basil, to name just a
a few. Herbs grow happily together and all like the same growing conditions, full sun and a well nourished good draining sweet soil. This means they can grow in a small area or even a large deep good draining container. A dressing of lime in winter will sweeten the soil in time for their growing season, mid spring through to winter.
Rosemary being a woody herb will produce strong roots that will encroach on softer growing herbs so in small herb gardens plant this in the top a bucket with the bottom cut out and buried in the ground. The bucket will contain the roots. Mint can be contained this way as well.
Never plant lemon balm in a kitchen herb garden because in no time at all it will spread and choke every other plant.
Tall plants like pineapple sage, fennel and upright rosemary can be planted as a low hedge divider if you wanted to section off an area in the veg garden for herbs. A standard bay planted at each end of a herb divider hedge could look good.

Vegetables
Its all on now for sowing as many seeds as you have room for and planting leaf veg before the white butterfly's arrive here on the coast,
keep the hoe moving between rows to keep weeds down, this movement will keep soil warmer.

Protection will still be needed further inland.

This weekend I plan to create a raised garden for strawberry runner plants I have been given. I plan to use logs from trees topped during the winter to retain the raised soil. Strawberry plants benefit from manure buried in shallow trenches along the side of the rows then when they start growing a dressing of fertiliser high in potash for good fruit development.
Putting out runners weakens a strawberry plant by the end of the season so new runner plants planted each year is best.
Cheers, Linda

Still a winter chill in the air this week which if nothing else keeps the weeds back a little longer although I have been weed spraying to eradicate those that have dared to pop through early.
I also find that by adding a couple of inches of compost
to the top of the soil once the winter clean up is completed really helps to supress early spring weed growth and adds benifical humus to the soils structure.
I encourage birds into our garden to deal to pests like catapillars,aphids and grass grub so always expect weeds from the seeds in their droppings as nature intended, it's all part of gardening and weeding little and often will keep you one step ahead of nature.

I am still breaking up and shifting perennials like agapanthas, large and dwarf types, day lillie's, grass's, and succulents. Some of my plants never made it through the winter so there are a few gaps needing filled.There is still time to divide hostas, these dramatic shade loving perennials can make a shaded spot with their fresh greens and variegated light shades. Simply lift established clumps at least 4 to 5 years old and use a sharp spade to slice them into a few good sizes pieces, then replant, even in pots they look great.
I have been finding a lot of self sown plants like wall flower, primula, for-get-me-not, bellis daisy and heaps of other useful seedlings to fill gaps which should not mind being transplanted while the ground is so wet.
I have noticed that the north-end of Oamaru is away ahead of our Weston garden with mass's of spring bulbs on display and early blossom, we have nice hellebore's in flower and heaps of bulbs through but nothing in flower as yet.I guess we are just that bit closer to the snow on the Kakanui's.

Also this week some of our taller shrubs like phebaliums, pittosporums, psudopanax and the like have been reduced in height.This can be done if height is a problem without spoiling the shape of shrubs.
What I do is cut out the center top branch down to where the other branches bush out. This removes the natural point at the top of the shrub and will sometimes reduce the height by 2 or more meters.The shrubs will soon send up a new leader but will also put more growth into the side branching which can be trimmed into shape if a problem. The reason that this sort of control works now is because it is just the start of the growing season and plants will recover fast because they are intent on just growing. Leave doing this for another month further inland.

If you have leggy lavender bushes trim them back now past their woody growth,lavenders are just starting to make new growth so this is the right time to get them bushy again.Lavenders also enjoy old stable manure and a little lime at this time of the year.
As I keep saying If you have no time to do anything else in the garden right now feeding plants is a must for health and vigour through the summer, it is well worth the effort and will minimize the spaying needed if plants are unhealthy.
Slow release fertilisers are a safe bet to keep on feeding over a long period. They are very clean and easy to apply and you will not be at risk of over feeding with them. Each time the plants are watered they are fed as the granules break down gradually.
There are slow release fertilisers for specific plants and a general one for most plants.
Now would be a good time to talk about plants that resent fertiliser: Many South African plants and Australian natives such as proteas, leucodendrons, banksias, and all grevillia's do not need feeding. I have lost grevillia's because they had absorbed fertiliser from neighbouring plants. There are wonderful displays of leucodendron bushes around town at the moment, they are great for picking right now so fill vases and enjoy inside, cutting the blooms off will do the bushes good and stop them from becoming woody and leggy.

The Vegetable Garden
It's the perfect time to sow seeds under cover as I mentioned last week,I planted parsnip, carrots, broad beans and peas at the beginning of this month and they are up and doing well.Any seeds that say spring sowing on the back of the packet will pop up now. I use a tray of compost & potting mix with a layer of seed raising mix on the top.This way your seed raising mix goes further. Once planted cover the trays with plastic or glass but use spacers to let air circulate around the trays.This week I put in some rocket (early potatoes) that had good sprouts, but Because the nights are still so cold I have mounded soil up over them and covered the row with straw to help keep the soil a little warmer.
Give rhubarb clumps a good dressing of compost and manure now,they are heavy feeders and start looking for food early in the season.

Fruit trees
Peach and nectarine trees should be sprayed now for that dreaded leaf curl, the most effective fungicides are chorathalonil (Bravo)or copper compound sprays.It is best to spray down on the trees from a ladder to make sure it's they that get a good drenching and not you.


Cheers, Linda.

Overcast,dull days and still very wet and sticky ground but plants and new lambs are pushing on and making it feel more like spring everyday.
This week I have been doing the final winter clean up around the gardens i do not mulch with pea straw, these gardens get a covering of the lovely black compost we get each year from the Pukuiri freezing works, which allows the bluebells, and daffodils to take center stage for the next couple of months. I do have pea straw in areas where bulbs are growing and now that I can see where where they they are popping up clear keep it clear around them so the needed light can get to them.
Weeds are growing!! nights and mornings are so cold but the afternoons are very mild and these conditions seem to promote weeds. Start your spraying programme and zap them while still very small.
After all the rain moss is thriving in lawns, pathways and garden structures. There are a lot of products out there to deal with moss but killing the moss in lawns is simply a short term measure they do nothing by way of treating the basic problem of moss in lawns. They simply kill the moss which is there. It will return

If you really want to eradicate moss from your lawn, then you have to find out the actual problem that is causing it, the reasons are various, but not too difficult to isolate. Moss is a sign that something is basically wrong with your lawn, and because there are so many moss kill products on offer encourages gardeners to just treat the problem off moss every year.

Things that could be causing moss in your lawn could be:


Water logging - in winter or summer.
Poor feeding regime - usually shown by light green grass.
soil too acid - carry out a test, lime may be needed.
Shaded Lawns - overhanging trees or large shrubs.
Mowing lawns too close is a very common cause, for it weakens the grass allowing moss to take hold
Drought - if severe enough to harm or kill the grass. Not to be confused with a bit of summer-browning
Sandy - free-draining soils. This can weaken the grass and allow moss to take over. Some mosses are quite happy in these conditions. Add humus (compost or sieved soil) to add more body and rake in, this will encourage worms as well.
Compaction - continued use by children and pets with no remedial attention by way of aeration in the Autumn.
Generally, lawns that are well maintained - which includes being well fed, cut properly, aerated and de-thatched - problems which result in moss will not occur in the first place. Moss can rarely compete with strong growing grass in lawns. Get the grass growing properly starting with the first spring feeding.

Treating small areas of lawn moss can be carried out with sulphate of iron watered on at the strength displayed on the pack per sq meter. After a couple of weeks, you can rake out the dead moss and re-seed. If you need to use a feed for the area, it is better to feed the whole lawn in order to avoid patchiness!

Staying with grass, trim back ornamental grass's now, cut back the old seeded ends and clean out the dead thatch around the base, its amazing how much you will need to cart away up after this hair cut but they will look wonderful and will grow back to their soft wafting shape in no time. Use what you have cut off as mulch around the garden, a cover for the compost or in the chook or calf house if you have one.

It is at this time of the year I notice yellowing of some plants, the ground gets depleted of nitrogen during winter especially when plants are shallow rooted like camellia and rhododendrons, and potted plants with roots trapped in what you have planted them in. With applications of complete plant food and compost this condition will be rectified, all the slow release fertilisers on offer now it's makes it easy, each time it rains or you water food is released to the plant.

Vegetable

Pick winter crops while still at their best - Fold cauliflower leaves over and tie to protect from frost and keep florets tight.

Dig over empty sections of the vegetable garden, avoiding working on wet soil, to prepare for next seasons crops. Add well-rotted compost and dig in well..

Asparagus is a vegetable that repays planting over many years. To prepare beds cultivate deeply and add generous amounts of compost. Existing asparagus beds should be cultivated carefully to avoid damaging the crowns that lie just below the surface, add a new layer of mulch.

To get spring sowings off to an early start now, use a row of cloches or a stretch of clear polythene to warm and dry out the soil. Garlic and shallots can be planted here on the coast along with broad beans. In cooler districts - nothing yet except under cover - cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and lettuce seedlings can be nursed along until it's time to plant out.

Fruit

Fruit trees - remove secondary growth since summer pruning of trained fruit trees. Citrus are susceptible to water logging so avoid over-watering and always ensure that your trees have good drainage and are not sitting in a puddle of water.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago August 7th 2010

August,and a cold snap to remind us that it is still winter even though so much is beginning to awake in the garden, I feel spring in the air with the fragrance from winter sweet, witch hazel and Daphne wafting to the music of Chopin around our garden. The birds are beginning to nest and my first jonquil has opened. I do love the beginning of a new growing season as you can surely to tell!

After months of hard stuff going on in this garden it is now time to create and dress the garden by planting out, feeding and watering. I have been liquid feeding with worm juice from my worm farm, which I add at black tea strength to a full watering can then apply generously to all new leaf and budding plants like pollyantha's, forget-me-nots, dianthus, sweet peas, pansy, viola and winter roses. Helping them along with feeding now will get their roots going and keep them green and strong through the cold snaps yet to come.
Slow release fertiliser is a great idea now as well, sprinkle around established ornamental and newly planted trees and shrubs to be there ready when the plants needs food.

This week I finished pruning the hydrangeas and noticed nice fat buds swelling on the stems, cut only those stems that have flowered at the second bud from the bottom, leave all other stems because these are the flowers for this year. Spread old stable manure around the drip line and a dressing of lime for pink flowers and aluminum sulphate for blue. It is much easier to control the colour of hydrangea's in a pot, if the PH of your soil is high they will always revert back to pink from blue no mater how often you add aluminum to the soil, used coffee grinds and grass clippings as well to help can help keep the PH low. If you plan to grow some in large pots to achieve a certain colour it is best not to use any soil from your garden.
Grow some cuttings from the hardened hydrangea, flowered steams which have been removed. A shaded moist area is best for planting these and hopefully roots will grow to feed the buds on the cuttings. Some times I get good results by covering the cuttings with a box keeping the light out and holding the buds back to encourage roots.

I have also been taking cuttings from the hardened off geranium steams, fresh grown geraniums give amazing colour to a warm sunny garden for all of the growing season and even into the winter, they are so easy to grow from cuttings. Take short cuttings with semi hard wood, (not a new green steam) and let them dry out a little before planting them, which means you don't have to deal with them straight away. plant them into a soil and river sand mix and firm down, Potting mix is too light to get a tight seal around the cutting. I am forever taking cuttings from geraniums I like when I come across them in friends gardens, and giving cuttings from mine.

Trim dentata lavender now, that's the tall growing one with the lavender bumblebee flower, they are budding up now ready to burst into flower. Lavenders like sweetening up with a dressing of lime. Leave trimming other lavenders a little longer

Cut back bush lavatera now also, they get very woody if left.

Dahlias, gladioli, and peonies are coming into the Garden centers this month, they can be planted from now until September.

Apply a dressing of Rose Food to establish Rose's and Water in well.

Fruit Trees and Roses are still available in most Garden Centres. If you think your garden is too small for fruit trees, I have seen dwarf Peach and Nectarine Trees on offer, what better if you need a little tree to add height in an era of your garden why not have one that blossoms beautifully and then gives you fruit.They are perfect for the smaller garden as they only grow to a width and height of 1.5 metres. They can also be grown in a tub and require very little pruning.

The vegetable garden is still enjoying a frost or two, although my raised gardens are in such a sunny location I would have liked a few harder frosts to break up the soil. I am still digging carrots and using silver beet and broccoli, and the leeks are growing well, it is so good not to have to worry about the bugs during these colder months. If your veg garden is still cold and frosty there is not much for you to do apart from adding some compost and a little lime in readiness for when you plant out later this month.

I see the bees at work already which is a good sign for the soon to be happening fruit blossom pollination .

Cheers, Linda.
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Gardening in North Otago 31st July 2010

What a lovely winters week we have had in North Otago, frost, sun and blue, blue sky's
Trees and shrubs have been moving around our garden this week, now that trees are bare I can see where some trees and shrubs would be better in another place.
If you have a shrubs or trees that are not growing in the right spot?

It's best to dig them up carefully and shift them now, in winter, while

they are dormant, and to give them time to adjust to a new home

before spring growth starts.

Once dug out dig a hole twice as big as the root ball, cut back any

damaged roots and invest in some peat moss to put in the bottom of

the planting hole, add water to wet the peat, new feeder roots

will grow well.

Each large transplant should to be staked well against the coming

winds until new roots have established well enough to hold it.




Best to get all your winter pruning done before the end of the month and spring bud burst. Once roses are all pruned they can be sprayed with a copper spray mixed with winter oil to clean up disease and seal cuts. Follow directions printed on containers.

Citrus and tamarillo will be ripening and colouring up with the frosty days we have been experiencing. Prune your citrus shrubs as you pick the fruit by cutting stems out to open up the bush to the sun so as to encourage new growth and flowers in spring.

If your lemons are dry and pithy this winter it will be most probably due to a lack of nitrogen last summer when the fruit was developing. Give your bushes plenty of nitrogen next summer, nitrophoska blue would do the trick.

I have seen tamarillo growing here in North Otago on the coast, the cheerful bright red fruit are wonderful to see in a winter garden and will withstand coastal frosts. For best flavour harvest tamarillo when they fall, rather than picking them off the tree.


Vegetable garden

It's time to start tidying up the garden in preparation for spring planting. Clear weeds and give a dressing of manure, compost and a little lime to the soil where you have recently grown crops, this will prepare for the next round of planting. However not all crops like lime – potatoes and tomatoes don't, but peas, beans and capsicums love it along with the worms.

Cut down and dig in green manure crops such as mustard, lupin and oats to help improve soil fertility. Cut them down before they flower and dig them into the soil shallowly. It takes at least a month to six weeks for them rot down before replanting new veges.

Cheers, Linda (Parkside Stone & Garden Weston)

Gardening in North Otago 24th July 2010

Wet through the week, good to get moisture into the garden if we are not going to get a snow fall to add deep moisture to the ground before spring then any rain is good.

It has been another week of pruning and composting here around this large, never ending garden! I am so pleased the rain will be taking the compost down to the roots of the plants. It may look as if growth has stopped but here on the coast with the warmer ground there is plenty of feeding going on. The bulbs are starting to make an appearance and will benefit from a dressing of compost along with hellebore (winter roses) which are looking wonderful right now and pansy's, pollyanthas, and violas are brightening up the gardens as well right now, all these plants respond really well to dried blood sprinkled around them.
Dried blood is also a good tonic for yellowing camellias and rhododendrons, mix it with camellia and rhododendron fertiliser and apply now while there is rain about and they will reward you well come spring.
The garden shops are full of colourful sesanqua camellias in flower, different varieties of flowering hellebore's and cyclamen to brighten up indoors and porches.
These plants will have been grown under protection to get them looking so good so don't be too quick to plant out in the garden, let them harden off gradually first.

Take saucers out from under tubs and planters now as nights will likely freeze after this rain and frozen saucers will freeze the roots of your plants.
Because we have had it quite mild here on the coast this rain will saturate the foliage of tender plants like geranium and pelagonium plants, it would be best to put a cover of frost cloth over those planted in the garden and move potted ones in under cover before they freeze while wet.

Roses:
Mulch, mulch and more mulch. Apply a thick layer of mulch on and around your roses in winter. This protects the root zone and enables the plant to concentrate on root movement and getting ready for the up coming growing season. Un-sprayed Pea or barley straw and well cooked compost are all ideal for mulching. I notice the mulch cooking and steaming away at the resource recovery park each time I am there with my recycling. This compost will be clean of weed seeds and is a very reasonably priced option to use for mulching the garden. Old stable manure can be applied around roses during the winter months before applying mulch, then in early spring apply rose fertiliser and water in well to ensure there will then be enough food for the roots when roses start growing from the top again,
An application of Rose Fertiliser will enhance the establishment and growth of healthy roses. This fertiliser has an excellent level of potassium, which is the nutrient responsible for promoting large, vibrant, healthy blooms. For established roses apply 200 g (1 cup) per square metre and water in well. An application just before the end of winter is a good idea, if buds are swelling they are using food. Apply again in mid December for an autumn flush of blooms.
Vegetable garden:
To have Christmas new potatoes you need to start thinking about them from now on, all varieties are available in shops now. There are early and late varieties so ask about the variety you choose, a potato is not just a potato any more! Lay your seed potatoes out on a tray in a dark dry place and get them sprouting and ready to plant out when the frosts have past.
There will never be a better time to choose and plant ornamental and fruiting trees than right now! Each tree will have an informative label to tell you exactly what you will be buying with instructions on how and where to plant. All fruit trees need to grow in an open sunny position.
Keep sowing vegetable seeds in trays for planting out later, plant Cauliflowers and Cabbage seedlings and sow early Peas. In warmer areas you can also plant Lettuce, Silver beet and Broccoli seedlings and Onions
Asparagus crowns are now available and can be planted out in a well composted and fertilised bed. (no animal manure though)
Cheers, Linda.